Timed out is a method ofdismissal in the sport ofcricket. It occurs when an incomingbatter is not ready to play within a given amount of time of the previous batter being either dismissed or retired.^[1][2] This is one case of a 'diamond' or 'platinum'duck, as the player is out without having faced a ball. The purpose of the law is to ensure there are no unnecessary delays to the game. It is easily avoided, and it is very unusual for a batter to get out 'timed out'. As of March 2025^[update], there have been no instances of this type of dismissal inTest cricket, a single instance each inOne Day International andTwenty20 International cricket, and seven instances infirst-class cricket.

"Timed Out" as a specific method of dismissal was added to the Laws in the 1980 code.^[3] It provided two minutes for the incoming batter to "step on to the field of play". In the 2000 code, this was revised to three minutes for the batter to "be in position to take guard or for his partner to be ready to receive the next ball".^[4] However, the first printed Laws of cricket, in 1775, already required the umpires "To allow Two Minutes for each Man to come in when one is out".^[5]

In 1919,Sussex cricketerHarold Heygate was given out by the umpireAlfred Street as "timed out" in a first-classCounty Championship match withSomerset atTaunton.MCC, then in charge of the Laws, later ruled that the umpire was correct in ending the Sussex innings when Heygate failed to appear within two minutes, but that the batter should be marked as "absent", which is how it appears in the 1920 edition ofWisden Cricketers' Almanack. Under present rules, Heygate would have been recorded as "absent hurt", and this is how his innings is now recorded in CricketArchive. The match ended in atie.^[6]

Law 40 of theLaws of Cricket provides that an incoming batter must be in position to receive the ball or for their partner to be ready to receive the next ball within a given amount of time of the fall of the previouswicket or the previous batsmanretiring. If not, the incoming batter will be given out, timed out, onappeal.^[7]

The amount of time given for the incoming batter to be ready varies depending on the match playing conditions. The default period of time defined in Law 40 is 3 minutes,^[7] but this is amended to 2 minutes forTest cricket andone day international cricket.^[8][9]Twenty20 cricket shortens the period of time even further to 90 seconds, and an on-fielddugout is often provided in this format (in a similar manner to some other team sports such as association football and rugby) to enable incoming batters to make their way to the wicket immediately when a wicket falls to avoid being timed out.^[10] The umpires cannot rule on any appeal for timed out until someone takes the field of play.

The "incoming batter" may be any batter who has not yet batted. There is no prescribed batting order in cricket, i.e. the team does not have to come out to bat in any specific order even if one has been published. Until one batter has set foot on the field the batting captain may pick any player who has not yet batted who, when they appear on the field, may then be given out on appeal.^[11] Knowing that a better batter will shortly be able to take the field, the captain can therefore sacrifice onto the fieldtheir worst remaining batter (colloquially the "No. 11") or one who is present injured, even one who previously retired hurt.

Whether or not an appeal for timed out is made, if the delay in which no batter comes to the wicket extends beyond the prescribed minutes, an "extended delay" is judged and the umpires follow the procedure in Law 16.3 with a view toaward the match to the opposing team.^[7] They will discuss the situation together, make contact with the Captain of the team who are refusing to play and can award the game to the bowling side.^[12]

If no remaining not out players are able to take the field (e.g. through absence, injury or illness, or suspension or ejection as a result of a players' conduct offence) then none is given outtimed out; instead the innings is to be considered ascompleted and "absent ill/injured/hurt" (orretired in the event of a players' conduct offence) is noted next to all remaining players' names as appropriate.^[13][14]

No batter has been dismissed timed out inTest cricket as of November 2023, but there are some notable incidents where a batter could have potentially been dismissed in this manner:

1. During the third Test atCape Town'sNewlands Cricket Ground of the2006–2007 series betweenIndia andSouth Africa, India quickly lost two opening batters at the start of their second innings.Sachin Tendulkar was listed as the fourth batter, but as he had been replaced as a fielder for 18 minutes at the end of South Africa's first innings, he was ineligible to bat in India's second innings until another 18 minutes had expired from its commencement. After confusion in the Indian dressing room about Tendulkar's ineligibility resulting in a six-minute delay,Sourav Ganguly came in as the next batter. South African captainGraeme Smith did not appeal for a "timed out" dismissal of the incoming batter as the Umpires had told him it would not be entertained due to confusing information given by the match referee regarding Tendulkar's short suspension, and Ganguly was allowed to commence his innings.^[15]
2. During the second Test in the2023 Ashes series, Australian playerNathan Lyon suffered a severe calf injury while fielding that prevented him from moving at a normal pace. During the Australian second innings he decided to take his place as the final batter and to avoid the potential for England to appeal and have him dismissed by a time out, Lyon moved closer to the field than the Australian players pavilion so he could hobble onto the ground within the time limit. He avoided being timed out, scoring 4 runs before he was dismissed.

The first batter inOne Day International cricket (or indeed in any form of international cricket)^[16] to be timed out wasAngelo Mathews in agroup stage match againstBangladesh during the2023 Cricket World Cup. Mathews was making his way to the crease after the dismissal ofSadeera Samarawickrama when his helmet strap broke and he sought a replacement helmet on the edge of the field before being ready to face the next ball, with the time taken between Samarawikrama's dismissal and Mathews' readiness to face the next ball consequently exceeding the 2 minutes permitted under the tournament playing conditions.^[17] Subsequently, Bangladesh captainShakib Al Hasan appealed for timed out, which was upheld by the on-field umpiresRichard Illingworth andMarais Erasmus. Despite Mathews' protestations, Shakib refused to withdraw the appeal. The dismissal generated controversy, with some praising and others criticising Shakib for his actions.^[18][19] It later emerged that Mathews would not have been ready to face the next ball in time even had his helmet strap not broke, and that he had been warned by the umpires about the possibility of being timed out before the helmet malfunction.^[20]

No.	Player	Team	Opposition	Venue	Competition	Date	Result
1	Angelo Mathews	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh	Arun Jaitley Stadium,Delhi, India	38th Match,2023 Cricket World Cup	6 November 2023	Lost[21]
	Mathews was making his way to the crease following the dismissal ofSadeera Samarawickrama when his helmet strap broke, exchanging his helmet on the boundary before proceeding. The resulting delay meant that Mathews failed to be ready to receive the next ball in time, however he still would not have been ready in time even without the helmet malfunction.[1][20]

The first batter inTwenty20 International cricket to be out Timed out wasGhana'sGodfred Bakiweyem againstSierra Leone in the2023 Africa Cricket Association Africa T20 Cup, occurring only a month after the aforementioned Mathews dismissal in One Day International cricket. Notably, Bakiweyem was involved in another unusual dismissal earlier in the same match when Sierra Leone'sAbass Gbla made intentional contact with Bakiweyem while Bakiweyem was attempting to run Gbla out, resulting in Gbla being given outobstructing the field.^[22]

No.	Player	Team	Opposition	Venue	Competition	Date	Result
1	Godfred Bakiweyem	Ghana	Sierra Leone	Willowmoore Park,Benoni, South Africa	12th Match,2023 Africa Cricket Association Cup	17 December 2023	Won[23]
	Following the dismissal ofSamson Awiah, Bakiweyem was uncertain as to whether he was next to bat, the resulting delay meaning that he failed to be ready to receive the next ball in time.[22]

• List of unusual dismissals in international cricket

• The Laws of Cricket
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
• The dictionary definition oftimed out at Wiktionary

• Cricket laws and regulations
• Cricket terminology

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